2017 Building Diversity Awards: Almar Contracting LLC

Since Maria Rojo de Steffey formed Almar Contracting LLC with business partner Alfonso Elias in 2011, the firm has grown quickly and now boasts 20 full-time employees

While Rojo de Steffy and Elias wear different hats – she serves as president and he handles dual roles as vice president and chief of field operations – they are in synch when it comes to the type of restoration and remodeling work the company tackles.

“We look for projects that are different, and that’s what gets us excited,” Rojo de Steffey said.

Restoration and remodeling contracts for apartments and related housing make up a large part of the company’s ongoing bread-and-butter work. Rojo de Steffey, Elias and the Almar team have worked on projects for several non-profit organizations in the area, including Cascade Behavioral Health, REACH, Habitat for Humanity and Home Forward.

One of the company’s most recent community involvement projects was with Kenton Women’s Village, which provides transitional housing for homeless women along with on-site supervision and counsel provided in cooperation with Catholic Charities. While students and future residents built 14 tiny houses for the village, Almar Contracting built a communal bathroom and communal kitchen using shipping containers.

Rojo de Steffey, a former Multnomah County Commissioner, sees the project as a great example of how people and local businesses can come together to help the community.

“When we moved into … working more projects for non-profit organizations, that really touched us,” Rojo de Steffey said. “Social service and diversity are hand-in-hand and the work these nonprofits do is amazing.”

For Rojo de Steffey, the concept of community extends to her company, another sign of her mother’s influence.

“Almar Contracting is more like a big family,” she said. “We work with our people if they need time off for something. It shows them that we want to take care of them and their kids. It creates loyalty, and that shows in what we do together. Our projects are their projects, too.”